World Record Holder Runs 52.76, Fastest Time Ever In April, On Day 1 In Kingston

By David Woods for DyeStat

@Grandslamtrack photo

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone cannot race without setting a record of some sort.

The 25-year-old New Jersey native opened the new Grand Slam Track series Friday night at Kingston, Jamaica, by winning the 400-meter hurdles in 52.76 seconds.

In shaking out “the cobwebs,” as she put it, she assumed her customary place as a world leader despite chopping her steps on the eighth hurdle.

McLaughlin-Levrone, who has set six world records, also posted the fastest time ever run in the month of April.

Previous best was 53.23 by Britton Wilson on April 14, 2023, according to the World Athletics database.

Dalilah Muhammad was second in 54.59.

Muhammad, 35, who beat McLaughlin-Levrone in setting two world records in 2019, announced Thursday this would be her final season. Muhammad won the gold medal in 2016, when McLauglin-Levrone made the Olympic team at age 16.

Those in the 400 hurdles will close the first slam in a 400-meter race at 4:21 p.m. Sunday. Points are 12-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 per race, and top scorer from two races earns $100,000.

Attendance was not announced. Other than fans clustered together near the finish, stadium seats were mostly empty.

Another of the series’ marquee women, Gabby Thomas, took the 200 meters in 22.62. Thomas, whose father is of Jamaican ancestry, said it was the first time she had raced in Kingston.

“So it meant a lot to me, and it being the first slam, obviously we’re all really excited, really high nerves and just overall great energy,” said Thomas, who won three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino, gold medalist in the 400, surged late to finish second in 22.93.

Chris Bailey won the 400 in a world-leading 44.34 – just .03 off the PB he set in semifinals at the Paris Olympics. (He was sixth in that final in 44.58.) His victory came 13 days after he won the gold medal in the World Indoor Championships at Nanjing, China.

Olympic silver medalist Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain was second in 44.65 and Vernon Norwood third in 44.70.

Bailey will try to become the first slam winner in Saturday’s 200, a distance he has not raced since March 2019.

“Who knows? We’ll see after tomorrow,” he said.

The fact that place matters, not time, was reflected in the men’s 5,000.

Americans went 1-2-3 in a tactical race won by Grant Fisher, who came from behind with a closing 400 of 51.5. Fisher, coming off world indoor records at 3,000 and 5,000, was first in 14:39.14. Cooper Teare was second in 14:39.91 and Dylan Jacobs third in 14:39.56.

“That’s one of the slowest 5Ks I’ve run in a while,” Fisher said. “But it was championship style. I need to kick well to do well in these meets, and my kick’s there, so I’m really happy.”

Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet, who seized the lead on the last lap, was fourth in 14:40.20.

Kenny Bednarek surprises in 100 meters

In other races:

>> Kenny Bednarek, a two-time Olympic silver medalist at 200 meters, beat the specialists to win the 100 in 10.07 into a headwind (-1.3 mps). South Africa’s Oblique Seville was second in 10.08. Fred Kerley, twice an Olympic medalist in the 100, eased to the finish in a badly beaten seventh in 10.30.

>> Milers went 1-2-3 in a women’s 800 won by Nikki Hiltz in 1:58.23, a world lead and PB. Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji was second in 1:58.29 and Australia’s Jessica Hull third in a PB 1:58.58. Hull, the Olympic silver medalist at 1,500, was coming off world indoor bronze at 3,000.  Kenya’s Mary Moraa, a world champion and Olympic bronze medalist at 800, was surprisingly last in 2:00.97.

>> Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, clocked 47.61 to win the 400 hurdles. Roshawn Clarke of Jamaica was second in 48.20 and Caleb Dean third in 48.58.

>> Ethiopia’s Elgayehu Taye won the 3,000 in 8:28.42, a world leader and fastest ever on Jamaican soil.  Kenya’s Agnes Jebet Ngetich, in her first track race in nearly two years, was second in 8:28.75. (She recently set a road 10K world record of 28:46.)  Whittni Morgan, fourth at indoor worlds, was fifth in 8:43.35. Elise Cranny, coming off a 30:36.56 victory Saturday in the 10,000 at San Juan Capistrano, Calif., was sixth in 8:44.03.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.